


Aftermath

by Bookwitch



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:47:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24766429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bookwitch/pseuds/Bookwitch
Summary: Set in time after the events of Love The Way You Lie.Deacon has gone catatonic. He doesn't speak and won't eat or drink on his own. They soon find out it will indeed take a village to bring him back to them.
Relationships: Deacon/Female Sole Survivor, Robert Joseph MacCready/Female Sole Survivor
Comments: 5
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

"Mom!"

Shaun had spotted his mother in the small party that was crossing the bridge back into Sanctuary, and immediately jumped down from the stone pillar where he had been reading.  
His mother's expression changed from a sort of worried serious to a bright smile, and he hugged her before taking her backpack from her to carry for her.

"Hey, wild child. What are you reading today?" she asked as he fell into step with them.

"Robin Hood. Rob from the rich, give to the poor!" he said excitedly. "I tried to read Hamlet, because it's cool when Uncle Deacon pretends the story. But the words are weird."

"That's because Hamlet is a play. They're fun to read, but even more fun to watch. It takes a while to get used to the way people spoke several hundred years ago."

"Yeah, Shaun, that's why your mother sometimes says things that don't make sense."

"Uncle Mac!" He turned around and smiled even more when MacCready stopped walking and squatted down, holding out his arms inviting a hug.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Mom didn't send a message that you were coming. Uncle Deacon!"

Shaun moved in to hug Deacon, but stopped short. The man didn't move, didn't acknowledge him. "Uncle Deacon? What's wrong?"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mac glance up at Deacon and back at him.

"He's not really feeling that well, Shaun. Come on, grab your mom's backpack and let's find him a place where he can rest and feel better."

"He can stay with me and mom."

"Sounds good to me, buddy. Lead on."


	2. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MacCready has accompanied Nora and Deacon back to Sanctuary, not wanting to leave her defenseless while Deacon was in...whatever state he had retreated into.

"Mom!" Shaun called as they entered the house.

"Down the hall, Kiddo."

Shaun dropped his mom's backpack on the sofa just inside the door and ran down the hall. Mac kept a light touch on Deacon's elbow, leading him on into the house. 

"Few more steps, buddy. There we go." he said. He dropped his own pack beside Nora's, then started down the hall with Deacon.

"What's wrong with Uncle Deacon?" he heard Shaun asking his mother. "Uncle Mac said he wasn't feeling well. Did he get hurt?"

"Uncle Mac is right," she answered. "And yes, he did get hurt. He'll get better. Can you help Mac get....oh, there you are." Nora smiled at him as he walked in. "Deacon, come on over here, baby."

She stepped forward and took Deacon's hand. He followed her like a child, and she got him to sit in the chair by the bed with no issue. 

"Shaun, while we're checking Uncle Deacon over to see what he needs, will you go start a fire so we can get something cooking for dinner?"

"Sure, Mom. I gathered more firewood this morning so I'll get right on it."

Nora gave him a bright smile. "That's my boy."

Shaun ran past Mac as he was pulling his rifle down, and Mac didn't miss the bright smile fading back into the blank serious facade that was her standard expression when she was worried. 

"What do you need me to do, boss?"

"You know where the wash cloths and towels are, right?"

"Of course."

"Can you heat up some water? I think he'll feel a little better once we get him cleaned up. Won't you, Deacon?"

Deacon didn't respond. Not that Mac had expected him to. He didn't want to worry the boss, but this catatonic nonresponsive state that Deacon was in was giving him the creeps. It was borderline terrifying. As much as Deacon's smart ass mouth annoyed him, it was a million times better than the thousand yard stare, dead eyes, and silence. He didn't know much about psychology; his specialty was putting bullets into brains, not understanding their inner workings, but he was sure this almost zombified state could not be a good sign. 

So, he did what he always did when he didn't know what to do. He focused on the small things he could do. Baby steps. Focus on the physical things, actions he could take. They needed warm water. He could get them warm water. 

When he got to the main part of the house, Shaun had already built a fire in the woodburning stove and had a small sauce pot started to heat up water for dinner. He nodded to the boy as he headed out the door. He grabbed a large bucket to draw water from the creek, then turned to step off the porch, nearly stepping into Sturges.

"Hey there. How's it going?"

"Sturges. Hi. Just heading down to the creek to get some water for the boss."

"Need some help?"

"Wouldn't turn it down."

"All right. Let's get to it then."

Sturges picked up a bucket and started walking with him. Mac expected him to start rambling off about things his daddy used to say, but surprisingly, he stayed quiet for the trip to the creek. It wasn't until they had each knelt by the creek to start filling their buckets that he even said anything.

"Thank you for bringing the general back safely." he said. 

MacCready shrugged. "I owe her."

"I'm sure she would disagree. Thank you, regardless." His bucket full, he pulled it from the creek and stood. "How's our boy doing?"

MacCready laughed in spite of his worry. "Our boy? I don't know how Deacon would feel about that."

"Well, he might be a lone wolf, but I think he's got family now whether he wants it or not." Sturges kept walking, not waiting for a reply, so MacCready just fell in step beside him. Thankfully there was no more chit chat, no attempts at a pep talk. He realized that Sturges was right, though. Deacon had family whether he wanted it or not.

And he supposed that meant he did too.


	3. Settling In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nora just wants to sleep for about a month. But there's too much to do.

"Deacon, I need you to take a sip of water for me, OK?" 

Nora tilted his chin up a little as she held a glass to his lips. Thankfully he took a sip without any further encouragement.

"Good. Good. We need to keep you hydrated, OK?"

He didn't answer her. Of course he didn't. He hadn't spoken in days. When they had finally fought their way out of the bunker, she had lost track of him for a while in the scuffle. All she really knew was that by the time the threat had been neutralized, Deacon was being pushed face-first into the wall of the bunker by Knight Rhys. She had rushed to intervene, but then she realized that Rhys was actually trying to calm Deacon down. She learned that Deacon had gone into a berserker rage. By the time he had calmed down enough for Rhys to feel comfortable letting him go, he just kind of collapsed against the bunker and sat there. He hadn't spoken since.

"Mom! I made some vegetable soup, and it's almost ready. I put some squirrel bits into it. I hope that's OK."

"That sounds great!" Then, a thought hit her. "When did you learn how to cook vegetable soup?"

"Watching you do it, of course." he said proudly. "And Marcy has taught me a little, too."

She bristled a little at the mention of Marcy Long, and she hoped it didn't show. At times it seemed like the woman actually worked at making herself unlikeable. 

"I bet it will be fantastic."

The kid beamed at her and headed back to the kitchen. 

Nora returned her attention to Deacon, who hadn't moved so much as an inch.

"My 10 year old kid is cooking. Do you know how old that makes me feel?"

She half expected, no, hoped, that he would respond with a crack about her being 200 years old, but of course, there was nothing. She kept talking to him, though, and would continue to talk to him as if he was going to respond.

"I'm going to go change clothes, baby. Just sit right there. I'm in the house and so is Shaun if you need anything."

She kissed him on the cheek, and walked into the next room to put on some fresh clothes.


	4. Just Being A Good Neighbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hancock arrives home in Goodneighbor. But he has no intention of putting up his feet. Nora had insisted on taking that agent to Sanctuary, but Hancock had a feeling there was more going on inside Deacon's head than rest was going to heal.

Hancock was relieved to walk through the gates of Goodneighbor again. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be staying long. He needed to make a quick stop in by the State House and check in with Fahrenheit. She usually kept things running fairly smoothly, but he felt obligated to check in from time to time.

"Are you here, Red?" he called as he entered his home. 

"You know, if anyone else called me that my fist would probably be the last thing they ever saw."

Hancock smirked up at her where she stood at the top of the stairs. 

"That makes me pretty special then."

"So what's the news? That merc kid and whoever he wanted you to help still alive, I take it?"

"Of course they are. This is me you're talking about here. I never let my friends down."

She just half snorted and shook her head.

"You're not staying long either, are you?"

"Nah. Gotta see if Dr. Amari has time to run to Sanctuary with me."

"Sanctuary?" She leaned against the wall at the foot of the stairs and crossed her arms. "What the hell is in Sanctuary?"

"Someone I think might benefit from Amari's help."

"Want me to come with?"

"I need someone I can trust to keep this joint running properly. I'll be fine, dollface. This old man is tougher than he looks."

"Fine, fine." she said as she pushed herself off the wall. "Just be careful."

"I always am, doll. I always am."

He went upstairs and took a shot of bourbon and a hit of jet. It was late in the evening already, not really good to travel at night. He decided he'd get a bit of shut eye and talk to Amari in the morning.

He took another hit of jet, inhaling deeply this time. He barely knew this agent, Deacon. But he knew that Nora cared a lot about him, and as far as Hancock was concerned, that meant he was worth helping.


	5. Bath Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sturges had already been heating up some water for dinner... and gives them the water he was already warming, and used the water they had just drawn.
> 
> Now to get Deacon cleaned up.

"Thanks for the help, Sturges."

"Glad to help. But wait a minute, though. I already have some water heating up to make some soup. Shouldn't be too warm yet, should be just right to get our boy cleaned up."

"You don't have to..."

"I know I don't. Come on." He took the hook and pulled the pot of the pit, grabbed a nearby work towel to wrap it over the handle and handed the pot to Mac. "Take it. I'll have some more water heated up in no time."

"Thank you, Sturges."

Mac took the cauldron , careful to hold the wrapped part of the handle, and lugged it back into the bedroom they'd put Deacon in. 

"Well, that was fast."

"Sturges said he already had some water heating. Said to use it from Deacon."

"Good. Set it down here and get me a washcloth and a towel. Deacon, honey, let's get this shirt off of you, OK?'"  
She pulled up on the man's shirt and he lifted his arms without argument. "That's my boy. You'll feel a lot better once we get some fresh clothes on you.

Mac looked at the side where they had cut into Deacon to release the pressure on his lung. Almost no visual evidence left that there was any kind of injury. Mac had come into the situation after the field surgery a handful of stimpaks, and by then Deacon had been his normal smart ass self

Then they'd had to fight their way out of the bunker. It wasn't even a rough fight, necessarily. There had only been 8 or 9 baddies, and he had sniped at least 3 of those himself. Hancock had a little fun with a flame thrower that he had gotten...somewhere. 

By the time it was all over, there was only one disturbance still going on, and he saw the Brotherhood Knight Rhys pulling Deacon off of something that was only recognizable as human in the vaguest stretch of the word. Deacon was in a white hot rage, and even the Knight was having trouble controlling him.

"Mac?"

"Oh, sorry." He handed Nora the wash cloth and soap. "Got lost in my head for a bit."

Nora eyed him carefully even as she dunked the cloth in the warmish water and started getting some of the grime off of Deacon's side.

"So you really cut straight through to his lung. How did you know how to do that?"

She shrugged slightly as she wiped down Deacon's chest and arms. "Nate... my husband,was military, was a hero in the Battle For Alaska. He knew things seemed to be going permanently downhill and insisted that I take a course in survival medicine."

"Lucky for us. Lucky for Deacon." Mac watched Nora rinse him off, then he toweled him dry. Then he and Nora got Deacon standing

"Now, D, let's get those pants off of you too. Nora told me where to find a clean set of underwear, even." He sighed as he realized what had to come next. "This is going to be as traumatizing for me as it is for you so we might was well get it over with."

Mac walked Deacon to what was once the bathroom. The Railroad agent still said nothing, and it was damned creepy the way they could just lead him around like a child. He took his hat off and shrugged out of his jacket, tossing both onto the little utility table sitting in the corner. He then turned back to Deacon, who was just standing there, motionless. Yeah, damned creepy.

"Well, the sooner we get this over with, the better. Let's get these pants off of you."

He reached to start unbuttoning Deacon's jeans.  
"There were go, buddy. Just going to slide these down now and..."  
Mac's words were cut short as Deacon suddenly came to life in the most terrifying way possible. His head hit the wall and Deacon's hands were closing around his throat.

"You had no right. I left. I walked away." Deacon was saying. "You had no right to touch her. We weren't bothering you."

Mac had NO idea what Deacon was talking about, but that's was of no concern if he couldn't even speak to try to snap Deacon out of it. Darkness was starting to close in on him even as he clawed at Deacon's hands to try to free himself.

He was slipping away when suddenly something jerked Deacon away from him. Just before he lost consciousness completely he felt someone catch him and ease him into the floor.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac wakes up with a massive headache. He's not even fully awake yet when he hears shouting coming from another room.

Mac had to admit he was surprised when he woke up alive. His head was pounding, and when he sat up her thought he was going to throw up.

"Easy, there, kid. You don't need to be moving so fast yet."

"Mama Murphy?"

"That's right. We gave you a stimpak but you should probably take it easy."

Now he remembered.

"Deacon..."

"We're taking care of him. Just sit back."

He started to relax when he heard shouting coming from somewhere in the house. Despite his almost crippling headache, he got up. The boss was among the ones arguing, although her voice was more quietly stern than yelling. He has to go see...

"See, I told you to take it easy, kid." Mama Murphy said as she reached out to steady him. "Everything is..."

He pushed away from Mama Murphy and headed into the hall. Looking down the hall into the living room he could see Sturges, Preston, and the boss all standing facing someone he couldn't see, obviously standing to the right of the opening into the hall.

"We don't have enough to do around here and you bring in a walking vegetable that has to be taken care of, and he attacks someone? What gives you the right?"

Ah. That must be Marcy Long. Mac knew that the boss didn't care much for her. She tried to hide it, but a little venom slipped in every once in a while when she spoke of her. It was happening now.

"First of all, this is my own home. I can give shelter and aid to whomever I please."

Oh yeah. The boss was mad. Her voice was calm, but she had that "just try me"tone.

"Secondly? That "walking vegetable" as you so delicately put it helped me take out the Gunners that took over Quincy. You remember. The same ones that killed your son? We killed every last one of them. The men and women who killed your son are dead, thanks to him.. And he's helped me take out several groups of Gunners and raiders since. So not only do I have the right to offer him shelter and aid in my own home, I feel like you owe him that courtesy, or at least the courtesy of letting him recover in peace."

"It's a trauma response, Marcy." Preston was explaining. "They were pinned down and Deacon was seriously injured. We owe it to him to give him a safe space to recover in."

"Let the Railroad take care of him."

"ENOUGH." The boss shouted. "Sturges, please get her out of my house."

"Yes, ma'am."

It was only after she saw Sturges leading Marcy out that the boss turned and saw him. 

"Mac. How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"Eh." he answered, rubbing his neck. ""I've had worse. What happened? How is..."

"Deacon is fine. Well, as fine as he has been recently. We got him calmed down before he did any real damage." She took a step forward and gripped his chin between her thumb and forefinger, turning his head one way and then the next to examine him. "You seem to be healing up well. He didn't know what he was doing, Mac."

"I know. I'm not going to hold it against him. It might be... might be something he'll need to talk about. I don't remember much before passing out, but I'm sure he was talking about Barbara."

The boss raised one eyebrow slightly, but then nodded.

"Deacon likes to keep things private. But if he wants to talk, I'm there."

"Who's with him now?"

"Shaun. And probably Mama Murphy, since she wasn't with you."

She walked past him down the hall. "Come on, we'll see if he's woken up yet."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac wakes up with a massive headache. He's not even fully awake yet when he hears shouting coming from another room.

Mac had to admit he was surprised when he woke up alive. His head was pounding, and when he sat up her thought he was going to throw up.

"Easy, there, kid. You don't need to be moving so fast yet."

"Mama Murphy?"

"That's right. We gave you a stimpak but you should probably take it easy."

Now he remembered.

"Deacon..."

"We're taking care of him. Just sit back."

He started to relax a little when he heard arguing coming from the other room. The boss sounded stressed, and he stood up and pushed past Mama Murphy, ignoring her protests

He entered the living room where he found the boss standing with Sturges, Preston, and Marcy.

"Now hang on, Marcy." Sturges was saying. "The General is right. That man in there needs our help. He's helped us out plenty."

"Well he's not much use now, is he? A walking vegetable who randomly attacks people. He's no better than a feral and we should put him down. It's not like we don't have enough trouble here in this hole. Now we have to spare resources and someone to babysit an invalid, and a possibly dangerous one at that. Have you all lost your mi...OW."

There was the sound of a slap reverberating throughout the room and he realized Nora has backhanded Marcy good.  
Preston moved in between them to separate the women. Marcy had no idea what she was playing with. He'd seen that woman take down a deathclaw. Marcy was lucky she just got backhanded.

"Ladies, please." Preston was saying, but Nora interrupted him.

"That was as close to a warning as you will get, Marcy Long." the boss was saying through clenched teeth. "Never forget that you all probably would have bit the dust had I not stumbled upon you in Concord. I gave you this hole, as you call it. It was my home 200 years before you even existed. And that "walking vegetable" in there? The invalid you're so worried about wasting resources on? He helped me kill the gunners in Quincy. That's right. He helped me kill the gunners that overrun your town and killed your son. I have never expected am ounce of gratitude from any of you for anything I've done. I just try to do what's best for as many people as I can. I don't expect gratitude. But I am not going to let you stand in my own home, where I live with my own son, and tell me that we need to "put down" sometime who has dealt out payback for wrongs done to everyone here a thousand fold. YOU are in his debt. Never forget that." She took a deep breath and looked squarely at Sturges. "Get her out of my sight, please."

"Are you all going to let her talk to me like that?"  
"Now, Marcy. We've all had a stressful day. Come on outside with me. I made a big pot of squirrel stew that I'd be happy to share with you and Jun."

Marcy stared in shock for a moment before finally turning in the direction Sturges was trying to get her to go. Mac didn't think anyone had ever stood up to Marcy before. Even the boss just usually ignored her comments. This must have really set her off.

"Everything OK in here, guys?"

Preston and Nora turned to Mac, seeing him stand just at the edge of the hall for the first time. The boss's jaw was still set in anger, but Preston greeted him 

"Things are under control here in" he said. "You're the one we should be worried about."

"Bit of a headache, throat's a little sore. But I'm OK."

"You can thank Sturges for that. He ran in and pulled Deacon of of you, and held him down while Mama Murphy hit him with a dose of Pax. By the time that wore off he was docile again."

"Is Deacon OK?

"He's OK," Nora said softly. "Step over here until the light for a minute. "

He stepped towards him, and she gripped his chin and made him look directly at her 

"Cover your eyes for a minute, then look back at me "

"Do you have a surprise for me?" he joked.

"I might if you don't do as I ask."

He heard Preston stifle a chuckle, but Mac did as she asked. When he opened his eyes again she gripped his chin and turned it first one side then the other.

"Eyes are dilated to different sizes, but not by much. You have a slight concussion." She winced as she put her hand on the back of his head. "That's quite a lump there, too. How's your vision?" 

"My vision is fine. Now will you tell me what happened?"

"We think you accidentally triggered some kind of muscle memory trauma for him. Deacon's had a hard life, hon. I know we all have, but he has some serious PTSD. He normally keeps it in check. But, right now..."

"Right now he's not exactly in control of his faculties. I get it.*

"Why don't you sit down and take it easy. Shaun made dinner. You have to be hungry "

"I think I'd probably throw up if I tried to eat something. How are YOU holding up?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to go check on Deacon and I'll be back."

He wasn't sure if she was telling the truth about how she was doing, but when he looked at Preston, Preston just shrugged.

"OK. OK. I'll be a good little sniper and go sit down."

Nora smiled and leaned in to just brush his cheek with her lips, and that almost made being ordered around worth it.


End file.
